Race Against Time
by D-Boy Wheeler
Summary: A fic I co-wrote with JAM. The evil Master X has created a virus that attacks toons, and it's up to the Tiny Toons and Oddimals (Oddimals (C) Brooke Michelle) to find the cure. Can they do it in time? Please R&R!


Race Against Time

By D-Boy Wheeler and JAM

INTRODUCÇÃO

                In the center of the caverns of Hell, where Layers of Evil have ruled for centuries, lies the morbid domain of the Prince of the Power of the Air. Suddenly, a scaly creature interrupts—

                [Oops, wrong story]

                It wasn't Hell, but it was something quite similar to it: Shadolar's Dimension. And somewhere in this dimension there was an area in which a certain jackal lived, one Julius Jackal, but in another dimension he was referred to as Master X. Clad in armor from top to bottom, his existence was geared for only two purposes: to serve his master: The demon Shadolar.

                The second one was: destroy Olivia Otter, and all the allies of Olivia Otter.

                Which, at the present, included certain toons that went by the names of Boomer, Bandit, Jinx, Zuccini, and Aurora: the Oddimals.

                And they were odd because they were either hybrids, or just plain weird.

                And the Oddimals also had a few friends of their own: The Tiny Toons

                That was because the Oddimals had left their home in Brazil and traveled to Acme Acres to attend Acme Looniversity.

                The Oddimals and the Tiny Toons also had another friend, a wolf named D-Boy Whitewulf, who, being their friend, was unfortunately also on Master X's target list.

                And so it was in this unfortunate day that, in his ultra-evil laboratory that Master X was tinkering with a weapon targeted for the Tiny Toons, and, in fact, all toondom.

                He would have come against them with either magic or ultra-high tech lasers and cannons and such, but in a previous encounter, he saw that toons, being toons, could very much withstand anything, including shotgun blasts to the face, dynamite, 100 meter falls, squashing by anvils, and pretty much any other type of violent behavior known.

                So after much studying and research, and analyzing toons' aniplasm (the stuff toons are made of), he sneaked into the human world and took samples of deadly viruses, including HIV I, II, and III, Plague, Dengue, and Ebola.

                Splicing genes here and there, he now came up with a new composite virus.

                He took a test tube out of from a small oven, and examined it.

                It was filled with a dark blue liquid, and it was completely odorless.

                A giant cobra entered the laboratory.

                Well, more than a cobra, it was actually the *shadow* of a giant cobra. It would have been mistaken for a shadow and one would wonder where the actual cobra was, if it weren't for the fact that the shadow had huge red glowing eyes.

                "JULIUSSSSSSSS!!!"

                Shadolar's voice boomed throughout the laboratory. Being part cobra, he couldn't help but have a very pronounced lisp.

                The jackal didn't even turn around. Instead, he just held up his invention quite proudly.

                "Yes, milord?" he replied, with a sinister voice of his own.

                "I TRUSSST THAT YOUR LITTLE EX-SSSPERIMENT ISSS NOW MORE THAN FINISHED??!!

                "The first phase is. The Beta version of the virus is ready. I would give it a 1000% improvement over the original Alpha version."

                "MEANING???"

                "That it will do its work in 30 days or less. It has the best of all the human viruses: it will cause a horrible fever like Dengue, internal hemorrhaging like Ebola, it will be airborne like Plague, and it will mutate regularly, like HIV."

                "AND THIS WILL ENSURE OLIVIA'SSS DESSSTRUCTION?"

                "Of course. Not only her, but every toon alive."

                "THEN GO, AND DO YOUR WORK."

                "Yes, milord."

                With a bright flash, Master X was gone from Shadolar's Dimension.

ELSEWHERE,

                there was a small green toon bird with an umbrella for an ornamental headfeather. His name was Gogo, and he lived in Wackyland, another dimension, only it was inhabited by the strangest toons alive.

                Being in this particular dimension, he had the privilege to various kinds of information.

                Namely, when there was a disturbance in the dark side of the Force.

                Or, when there was *any* great disturbance in either side of the Force.

Or, when there was some type of trans-dimensional activity.

                And it was this latter type of information that appeared to be in flux this particular day. A large eyeball, with spindly legs and arms, a detective's hat, and holding a magnifying glass, suddenly ran up to Gogo.

                Then, for no reason, he pulled out a fax machine from behind him, and the fax began to print out a message. Gogo held up the sheet and read, with his head upside-down:

                "TREMENDOUSLY NEGATIVE VIBES RECEIVED FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION STOP ORIGINS ARE UNKNOWN STOP DESTINATION IS ACME ACRES STOP IT CANNOT BE STOPPED STOP POSSIBLE EVIL BEING IN AA NOW STOP STOP IT AT ONCE STOP STOP IT AT TWICE STOP STOP READING THIS MESSGAGE BECAUSE THAT'S ALL WE CAN TELL YOU STOP STOP STANDING AROUND AND DO SOMETHING STOP THIS FAX CANNOT STOP STOP IT'S GONE HAYWIRE STOP STOP STOP STOP ST—"

                And it happily exploded for no reason at all, leaving the eye and Gogo covered in soot.

                "I think I'd better get to Acme Acres and stop this thing—waittaminute, I don't even know what it looks like!" He then shook all the soot off himself, and returned to "normal". "But I know someone who does!"

ELSEWHERE (Acme Acres, 07:36 PST, 15:36 GMT),

                her nest was very well kept, and her room was full of incense. And presently, the white loon with blonde hair was sitting in her nest, in a lotus position, peacefully chanting,

                "Ohwhatalooniam, ohwhatalooniam, ohwhatalooniam, ohwhata—" Only that this morning, her normally peaceful before-school chanting was interrupted by something. All her feathers suddenly ruffled, her neck swayed to a defensive position, and her wings involuntarily extended, ready to attack.

                "Omygawd!" she exclaimed, "Something, like, totally evil just totally invaded every psychic channel, er sum junk! What could—"

                SHIRLEY!!

                "Like, what?" She glanced around momentarily, and suddenly realized she was being channeled. "Gogo, is that you?"

                YES! DID YOU JUST DETECT A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE??

                "Like, get real, Gogo, it's not called the Force, it's like, called the Ether, er sum junk, and yes, I did get like something mega-evil just now!!"

                SOMETHING EVIL JUST ENTERED ACME ACRES! WE HAVE TO STOP IT NOW!! CAN YOU DETECT WHERE IT IS AND WHAT IT IS?

                "Like, for sure! I'll just, like, pinpoint its point of entry, er sum junk. Leave your psycho-phone in, like, automatic, and I'll relay you the exact coordinates, er sum junk!"

ELSEWHERE (Acme Acres, 07:36 PST, 15:36 GMT),

                at that moment, a very beautiful purple skunkmaid stepped out of her house and about to walk to school, planning to detour just a bit to pick up some of her friends. Her home, oddly enough, was in a junkyard, and inside an old Cadillac. And just as she was about to leave the junkyard, a blinding flash of light, well, blinded her, momentarily. She fell back, dropping her books. When her eyesight returned, she saw in front of her a *very* tall jackal covered with armor. The helmet's visor was raised, revealing a patch over the right eye. His expression clearly communicated EVIL.

                And not only did she see him as something evil, she felt his evil radiate from him, causing her back fur to stiffen.

                Master X closed his eyes for a moment, and after a while, he hissed,

                "[CENSORED]!! Neither Olivia nor the Oddimals are around!! Oh well, they will get their share of this in its due time. In the meantime……" His gaze went downward, and he saw Fifi. "……I guess we can start with you!!" He raised his arm, ready to throw the test tube—

                FWOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                Instinctively, Fifi's defenses had kicked in, spraying Master X full in the face. Stunned momentarily by the sudden stench, Master X staggered back, gasping for air, while trying to snarl with the pain that filled his good eye.

                Slowly, Fifi stood up, preparing another blast—

                Suddenly, a red glow engulfed Master X for five seconds, and then it faded away. This appeared to have a calming effect on him, since was now free from the effects of the skunk musk. Once again, he looked at her,

                "Just for that, you're getting the whole thing."

                FWOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                This time, it seemed that an invisible sphere around the jackal was deflecting all of Fifi's scent blast.

                CRACK!!!

                And then pain exploded in her right knee and shin, causing her to scream.

                She looked down, and saw a broken test tube, apparently shattered by her knee and shin, which had begun to bleed.

                Bleed?

                And she also saw a hideous odorless blue liquid, which was now entering her bloodstream.

                "My job here is done. Thanks for your time."

                Another hideous flash, and Master X was gone.

                At the same time, Shirley and Gogo arrived at the scene, just in time for Gogo to catch Fifi as she fell back, saying,

                "*M'aider*…" [help me] and losing consciousness altogether.

                "We're too late!!"

ELSEWHERE (50 km west of Sverdlovsk, Russia, 20:36 local, 15:36 GMT)

                also at that exact same moment, D-Boy Whitewulf had just finished a very long day of kickboxing training in the Ural Mountains, breathing in the cool night air. As he was preparing his campsite for the night, he suddenly had a vision. Halting every movement, he focused on what he was seeing. In the vision, he saw Fifi being attacked by Master X with what appeared to be a test tube.

                "Fifi!" shouted D-Boy in the midst of the mountainous wilderness. Not wasting any time, he packed his belongings in a flash, ran to his air bike, strapped in his gear, mounted the bike, and sped off to Old Stumpy in the Amazon. "I need to warn Olivia and the Oddimals!" he said to himself as he took off toward the southwest. He then rose higher and higher, the bike's shield enclosed on itself and D-Boy, and he accelerated more and more, until he reached a speed of Mach 2. He hoped no government would track him and fine him for the noise pollution caused by the sonic boom. He only wished that either he wasn't so far from Brazil, or that his air bike flew faster, and that his voice-controlled communicator had been installed earlier.

Charles Adler

Tress MacNeille

Daniel Wheeler

Kath Soucie

Brooke Michelle

Frank Welker

Danny Cooksey

Joe Alaskey

Gail Matthius

The J.A.M.

are

BUSCAFRUTAS

with

Jim Cummings

And

Jim Byrnes

Written by Daniel "D-Boy" Wheeler (dboywheeler@juno.com) and The J.A.M. (i_am_the_jam@hotmail.com)

CHAPTER 1: THE NEWS IS OUT!

FIVE HOURS LATER (Old Stumpy, Brazil, 17:21 Rio ST, 20:21 GMT)

                in Old Stumpy, a large tree that served as the Oddimals' home in the Amazon, Johnny and Olivia were taking a nap in their bedroom (they were married, thank God), while the others simply played around in a mini-playground down stairs. Everyone jumped when they heard a sonic boom, followed by what seemed to be a mix of a jet turbine and a VW engine. Moments later, D-Boy burst through the door. Johnny and Olivia, in their bathrobes, came downstairs to see what the noise was, and saw the wolf. All noticed his worried look.

                "What's the matter, D-Boy?" asked Zuccini.

                "Gang…" said the wolf, catching his breath. "I got a vision while training in the Urals. Master X has attacked Fifi LaFume!" Olivia froze at the sound of Julius' new name. Her last encounter with him nearly cost her own life, besides that of her friends. Now, it seemed Julius was out to get every friend she had. "We need to get to Acme Acres pronto!" No more needed to be said. Johnny and Olivia ran back upstairs to change while the rest got ready. After attaching some small wagons to the air bike, D-Boy flew the Oddimals gang to Acme Acres. 

FOUR HOURS LATER, (Acme Acres, 16:50 PST, 00:50 GMT)

                Shirley was outside Fifi's hospital room, looking her friend through a large window. It had been half-a-day since the attack, and the doctors and scientists still had no idea how to fight this strange new disease. Then, she sensed something was approaching Acme Acres, very, *very* quickly, yet it was slowing down. She mentally sought out the object, and recognized the vibrations. And she knew where they were going to land.

                The airbike came to a stop next to Fifi's Cadillac. Everyone jumped out and was about to tear open the car door, when suddenly Shirley teleported in front of them, quite visibly upset. "D-Boy! Oddimals!" cried Shirley. "Like, thank goodness you're here, er sum junk!" D-Boy said to Shirley, 

                "I saw the attack in a vision. Where's Fifi?" Shirley replied, 

                "At the hospital! You'd better get to her. She looks pretty bad." Shirley teleported back, as the gang climbed back on the airbike and flew off to the hospital.

                Once at the hospital, one of the nurses took the team to Fifi's Room. Outside were Buster, Babs, Mary Melody, Furrball, Gogo, and Plucky, all looking extremely worried. D-Boy and the Oddimals wondered why Fifi was in an isolated room and could only be seen through a large window. The gang gasped at the sight of Fifi, very ill (and bleeding, despite the bandage on her leg) in the hospital bed. Gogo explained, 

                "Master X did this!" D-Boy asked the dodo,

                "What specifically did Master X do?" Gogo explained,

                "He smashed a test tube filled with a virus on Fifi's leg. She hasn't stopped bleeding since. It must be a new virus since none of the standard treatments are working."

                "And like, to be on the safe side, I put a shield around the entire scene you, like, passed through, until a toxic cleanup crew cleaned up the place. I, like, kept another one on Fifi to make sure this thing didn't spread around, er sum junk."

                "But nothing's helped her at all?" asked Olivia, nearly shaking.

                "She's received 3 blood units so far," replied Gogo. "All of Acme Acre's top brains are trying to make sense out of this disease. In fact, Calamity's looking at the symptoms now." The coyote then came out of another room, holding a printout with the diagnosis. He and all his colleagues had at least come up with a name for this disease: Cartoon Hemorragitis Beta…

                "This new virus causes severe internal bleeding and fever," Calamity's sign said. "Either the patient bleeds to death, or dies of a fever. And if it's anything like Ebola, the internal organs may eventually liquefy." Buster said, 

                "So… Master X is using Biological Warfare, eh?" Gogo then added, 

                "For some reason, I'm immune to it, seeing I was the closest one to Fifi. I guess it doesn't affect toons from Wackyland." D-Boy said, 

                "That explains why she's in the quarantine room." Gogo then said, 

                "Only one thing I know can cure any deadly virus! It is called the Mystic Sorbetus Fruit, found only in Wackyland. It looks like an orange, but tastes like strawberry sorbet, and has mysterious healing capabilities!" D-Boy said, 

                "Then we'll find the fruit. But I can't do this alone!" Buster said, 

                "I'll go with you!" Babs said, 

                "I'll go too! No one messes with a friend and gets away with it!"

                "And me!" added Shirley. Boomer and Zuccini also decided to go.

                "I will go too," said Olivia, solemnly. "Master X is still trying to get his revenge against me. This is all my doing, I guess, so I have to go too." Johnny could say nothing. Instead, he just held his wife by the shoulders while D-Boy said, 

                "Then it's settled! To Wackyland!"

CHAPTER 2: MASTER X'S COUNTEROFFENSIVE

MEANWHILE, (Shadolar's dimension, 01:00 GMT)

                in Shadolar's dimension, the demon, unfortunately, also had access to what was happening in Acme Acres, and he eavesdropped on the conversation. 

                "JULIUSSSSSSSS!!!"

                Master X turned and asked, "Yes, milord?" The demon said, 

                "THE ODDIMALSSS AND THEIR FRIENDSSS HAVE LEARNED OF A CURE TO YOUR VIRUSSS!" Master X was baffled for a moment. 

                "They found a cure already? Why, not even AIDS scientists have that much luck!" Shadolar ignored that statement.

                "YOU MUSSST SSSTOP THEM!"

                "Indeed, my lord, and I know who will help me!" Master X transported out of Shadolar's dimension.

LATER, (Acme Acres, 17:06 PST, 01:06 GMT)

                Montana Max was home from Acme Looniversity early that day, due to the virus threat. He had been watching TV on his huge couch for a while now, when he was suddenly looking with terror at a metal clad jackal, which stood right in front of him.

                And he knew who he was.

                He fell to his knees and begged, 

                "Please Master X! Don't hurt me! I'll do whatever you say!" 

                "Calm yourself, boy…" sneered the evil wild dog. He hated when others groveled. "I'm not here to kill you. You may provide much use to me in the near future! I have a favor to ask of you." Monty trembled, 

                "Anything!" Master X said, 

                "As you may have learned, I created the virus that attacked that purple skunk! But it has come to my attention that a cure has been found. If they find the cure, my plan will be ruined!" Monty looked at the jackal. Inwardly, he was hoping a cure could be found. After all, he knew that if he caught the disease, not even all of his fortune would be able to save him. He asked, 

                "So, w-w-what does that have to do with me?" The jackal laughed and said, 

                "I'm getting to that. I need your help to destroy the Mystic Sorbetus Tree. The fruit of that tree is the cure! By going to Wackyland and destroying the tree, I'll still have the weapon of the virus to threaten all toons who dare challenge me!" Monty looked at Master X with slight confusion.

                "H-help you destroy the tree?" Surely even this guy could do that by himself. 

                "Well, I actually need for you to go to Wackyland yourself and destroy the tree on your own. I must return to my dimension and prepare more of the virus." Monty shivered. His last visit there had proved *very* costly to him. Sensing fear for his life, Master X continued,

                "Of course, I will spare you." Then, he threw the bait. "And, since I have the only *other* cure known, I can make it available to you, so you can sell it to your pathetic companions at exorbitant prices." At the sound of that deal, Monty gave an evil smile, shot off to one of his vaults, came back with sticks of dynamite and a detonator, and said, 

                "With pleasure, Master X!" At that, Master X teleported Monty to the door to Wackyland…

AT THAT MOMENT (Acme Acres, 17:18 PST, 01:18 GMT)

                D-Boy, the Tiny Toons, and the Oddimals had arrived at the bridge that led to Wackyland. And just as they were about to cross it, a hideous red light blinded them all.

                "Get that tree!!!" yelled Master X as he grabbed Monty and threw him through the portal. The others tried to stop him, but they only ran into his force field. Once the human toon-boy was through, Master X shot a red beam at the portal. A huge zipper closed itself, sealing the entrance. And for good measure, the zipper handle and its links melted and welded into each other.

                The door to Wackyland was sealed! Master X turned and gloated to D-Boy and his friends,

                "Too late, pup! Soon, Monty will destroy the Mystic Sorbetus Tree! I hope you've made plans for Fifi's funeral…as well as your own!! Ha, ha, ha…" The evildoer then vanished into thin air.

CHAPTER 3: ANOTHER PATH TO WACKYLAND?

                Shirley zapped the welded zipper, but Master X's magic was more powerful. Her lightning would only bounce to the sides.

                "I can't get through!" D-Boy stepped beside her, and said,

                "Don't worry, I'll help you here. At the count of three, give it all you've got, and aim right for the zipper handle! Guys, you might want to step back a bit." The other toons backed off from the loon and the wolf as they planted their feet on the ground, and extended their arms at the melted zipper. Then, Shirley began to shine with a yellow light, complete with small electrical bolts, while D-Boy had white light boiling from him. He chanted,

                "Power of light, unzip the door,

                Multiply her blast and all we have stored!"

                The light and electricity intensified, and then D-Boy declared,

                "One-------------two-----------------THREE!!!!!!" A massive bolt of lightning blasted from Shirley's wings at the same time a huge laser blast shot from D-Boy's arms, complete with a secondary swirling pulse. With a cataclysmic blast, both beams hit the zipper handle—

                —only to be bounced back right at them.

                There was a ghastly explosion, and by the time the dust had settled, the other toons rushed out to find that Shirley and D-Boy had been blasted back some 30 feet.

                "D-Boy!!" yelled Zuccini.

                "Shirley!!!" yelled Plucky, only more urgently. But just as the gang reached them, the wolf and the loon stirred, and awakened.

                "Like, whoa," muttered Shirley, holding her head.

                "Ditto," said D-Boy. "Talk about feedback!" Then they both looked up to see what they had done—

                —and everyone sighed in desperation when they saw the zipper intact. D-Boy growled.

                "Master X put a deflector spell on the zipper!! There's no way we can get through now!!"

                "But we can't give up now!" said Babs. "Fifi is counting on us!" 

                "Yeah," replied Buster, "But how do we get into Wackyland?" Gogo calmly walked before the team and said, 

                "A long time ago, I recalled seeing an alternate entry to Wackyland in the Amazon. Not only that, but it's closer to the Mystic Sorbetus Tree than this portal!" D-Boy tried to make a few calculations in his head, and then he asked Gogo,

                "From here, how long will it take Montana to reach the Tree?" Gogo replied,

                "Well, since he didn't take any means of transportation, and since no one in Wackyland will help him, due to an unpleasant previous visit, and IF he manages to find the right path, it will at least be a good six-hour walk, if he doesn't fall asleep first."

                "And how long is it from the Amazon door to the tree?"

                "Walking? About an hour, straight ahead from the door."

                "All right!" exclaimed the wolf. "It's four hours from here to the Amazon in my airbike, and if we take it into Wackyland, we'll probably beat Monty by at least an hour!!! We can still do it, gang!" Boomer said, 

                "Yeah, let's go!" Zuccini cheered,

                "Watch out, Master X! We're gonna snuff out that virus!" They all climbed on the wagons attached to the airbike, all except for Gogo.

                "Aren't you coming, Gogo?" asked Babs. "You know what almost happened to you the last time you got locked out of Wackyland—"

                "No. I'll stay here with Fifi. Maybe Calamity can find out what I have that Fifi doesn't that repels the virus, and maybe buy her some time. And by now, my friends in Wackyland may have already sensed what happened to this portal and will try to open it from the inside. Don't worry about me, I'll be safe. Now GO!!!!!" The dodo's feathers were nearly blown off as the airbike took off and headed southeast. A sonic boom resonated through the air, and seeing his friends zoom to the horizon, Gogo ran back to the hospital.

FIVE MINUTES LATER, (Shadolar's dimension, 01:23 GMT)

                the cobra demon floated to Master X's laboratory.

                "OH, JULIUSSSSSS!!!"

                "Yes, milord?" asked Master X, as he stirred a test tube.

                "OLIVIA AND HER FRIENDSSS ARE HEADED BACK TO BRAZZZIL!!"

                "Ha! They're running for their lives! But no matter. Once I whip up more virus, there will soon be nowhere to run."

                "NO, YOU FOOL!!!" screamed the demon, floating in front of him. "THE DODO BIRD TOLD THEM OF ANOTHER PORTAL TO WACKYLAND. THEY COULD REACH THE SSSORBETUSSS TREE BEFORE MONTANA DOESSS!!!" The jackal looked at the red eyes in front of him.

                "Where is the other portal?"

                "BRAZZZIL. ONCCCE THEY ARRIVE THERE, THE LOON WILL MOSSST CCCERTAINLY USSSE HER POWERSSS TO FIND THE PORTAL!!"

                "Well, cool your jets, milord. It's a long way from Acme Acres to the Amazon, provided they don't take a short cut through this dimension, which they most likely won't. And when they get there," he held up the test tube, "they will have a little surprise waiting for them."

FOUR HOURS LATER, (Old Stumpy, Brazil, 02:33 Rio ST, 05:33 GMT)

                the airbike's nightlights lit the way down into the jungle. An alarm in the airbike rang out, and its occupants awakened. D-Boy set the bike to manual control again, and landed. After stretching themselves a bit, and eating a brief dinner, Babs turned to Shirley,

                "Well, I guess it's up to you to find the door, Shirl."

                "Like, fer sure! I'll just home in to Wackyland's vibes!" Once she said that, she assumed the lotus position, and once again began chanting, "Ohwhatalooniam, ohwhatalooniam, ohwhatalooniam…" A minute later, the loonmaid began floating, and she drifted into the jungle.

                "I guess we follow her," said Bandit, and they did, with D-Boy pushing his airbike along.

                "B-but what about Jags?" asked Jinx. "And all the other predators? At night the jungle's full of them!!!"

                "HA!" quacked Plucky. "Any predator that dares come near will get something coming from the Toxic Avenger!!" Babs stepped on a twig, which snapped, and the noise made Plucky jump into Buster's arms.

                "My hero," quipped Buster, after which he dropped Plucky rather hard. Since the situation was urgent, Plucky decided not to come up with a retort. Well, he couldn't come up with one anyway. 

                "Well, if Comrade Jags *does* decide to interrupt, he's going to get a good lesson for interrupting a rescue mission!!" growled Aurora, cracking her knuckles.

                No sooner had she said that, than suddenly a black shadow jumped out of nowhere and landed on Buster.

                "JAGS!!!" screamed Jinx. Stunned by the sudden heavy weight falling on him, Buster barely realized what was happening before heavy jaws clamped on his head and lifted him off the ground. 

                "BUSTER!!!!!!" screamed Babs. Jags was about to take his prey back to his lair, when a sudden burst of pain in his tail caused him to roar, dropping Buster. Zuccini quickly dove and shoved him out of the way while Jags turned to face Aurora, who had stepped on him.

                "We don't have time for you now, Jags," growled Boomer, his dingo blood beginning to rise as well. "Leave now and we'll continue this some other time." The panther looked about. Two rabbits, one green thing, two birds, one bat-rat.

                Six prey.

                One wolf, one dingo-wombat, one raccoon-opossum, one rabbit-wolverine, two otters.

                Six predators, or part-predators.

                And the only one that barely matched his size was the wolf.

                And it was doubtful he would match his speed.

                "You…………DIE………" he growled, as he jumped to the largest predator, i.e., competitor, in front of him: the wolf.

                Out of nowhere, Aurora smashed her legs in his stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and causing him to tumble into the ground. He tried to scramble upright, but a lightning bolt exploded on his rear.

                Hmmm, seven predators, must reassess the situation…elsewhere…

                The black jaguar scrambled back to the safety of the dense jungle, growling in pain.

                Meanwhile, Aurora looked back at Shirley and D-Boy. Shirley's wings were steaming, while D-Boy had a ball of light in his paw, ready to fire at the jaguar.

                "Well, I wanted to do him in by myself, but I'll let this go by," she commented. "Come on, Babs, he's not dead. Let's continue." Babs, of course, was hugging Buster like never before, and she was crying.

                "Babs, really, I'm ok! Fifi needs us! Come on!" he mumbled. He struggled with her for a bit, and eventually managed to untangle himself from her, but she still held on to him tightly.

                She had never felt so scared in all her life, not even when that wolverine had given them trouble. The sudden reality of death, and death of one she loved, suddenly hit her like an anvil. In total silence, she continued to follow Shirley, staying close to the others, and never letting Buster out of her grip. If he was to go, she would go with him, fighting, if necessary.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, (Amazon Jungle, Brazil, 03:08 Rio ST, 06:08 GMT)

                Shirley stopped drifting, and hovered some 5 feet above the ground.

                "Like, the portal's here, er sum junk." 

                "Here?" asked Olivia. "But there's nothing here that looks like an entry into Wackyland!!"

                "Maybe it hasn't been used for a while, and all the vegetation covered it," said Boomer. "Come on, guys, let's start looking for it!" Everyone looked about, through bushes and shrubs, looking for something that even remotely looked like a path to the warped world. Soon, Aurora found it and exclaimed,

                "Comrades! I've found it!" She pulled off a mass of vines that was directly under Shirley, revealing a deep circular pit. At first sight, it looked very much like an abandoned well, but deep inside it, instead of water, there was something bright and sparkly. Sure enough, it was a portal, disguised as a well, which went to Wackyland. D-Boy said, 

                "That's the door to Wackyland all right!" Buster chuckled a bit. Babs asked, 

                "What's so funny, Buster?" The previous incident still had both quite shook up. What on earth could Buster find so funny now? He said, 

                "Don't you remember what Gogo said? This is closer to the tree than the Acme Acres door! I'm imagining the look on Monty's face when he sees that we got to the tree before him!" Everyone laughed, but suddenly, D-Boy stopped laughing.

                "Oh no."

                "Like, what?" asked Shirley.

                "My airbike can't fit through the well! We'll have to go on foot! Once we enter, we'll have to walk an hour to reach the Tree!!"

                "And how long has Monty been walking around Wackyland?" asked Aurora.

                "Four and a half hours," replied Babs. "IF he hasn't stopped to sleep. Which means we have ninety minutes before he reaches the tree."

                "And IF he found the right path," added Buster. "For all we know, he could be walking in circles. And I doubt he'd want to sleep in Wackyland's Nighttime."

                "But," said D-Boy, "if we put a good forced march once we enter, we could reach the tree in 45 minutes—or, Jinx, Plucky and Shirley could fly ahead and reach the tree in thirty minutes!"

                "So what are we waiting for?" asked Plucky. "LET'S MOVE OUT!!!"

                He was about to enter the well, but…Master X appeared again! This time, not only did the blinding red flash stun them, but also an explosive burst blew everyone away from the well

                "So, my hated enemies," he said, "we meet again!" All looked up and saw that Master X was holding yet another vial of the virus, and this time it was fitted with a mist sprayer. 

                "…mother…" whimpered Plucky.

                And the sprayer had a rather long range.

                Before anyone could stand, he immediately sprayed the one nearest to him: Olivia.

                "This one's for you, Jeremy," he whispered, as the spray fell on the otter lady. Since Johnny was next to his wife, he was sprayed next, followed by Bandit, then Jinx, and then Plucky. He needed to wipe out all the flying toons, and he only needed to spray the loon—

                ZAP!!

                KABOOM!!!

                KAWHAMM!!!"

                With lightning speed, Shirley zapped the vial, destroying its contents, and she sent another shockwave of her own to throw Master X away from the well. Immediately, she put another shield around Olivia, Johnny, Bandit, Jinx, and Plucky, and the area where the virus was sprayed.

                "Quick!!! Like, jump inside before he seals this door too, er sum junk!! I'll try to hold him back!!" 

                "But, the others—!" muttered Zuccini.

                "I'll, like, take care of them!! Get the fruit! It's, like, the only you can save them and Fifi!!" They all hated abandoning their friends, but they only needed one more incentive:

                Olivia gasped, "D-Boy… Buster… Babs… Boomer… Zuccini… please hurry…" before she faded to unconsciousness.

                No more needed to be said. The others jumped inside the well just as Master X zapped the top of it. Shirley tried to zap him again, but she couldn't generate a lightning strong enough to push him back *and* hold her force field around the sick toons. Holding a shield around himself, Master X calmly walked to the well, ignoring Shirley's lightning that crackled all around him. He shot lightning at the well, and in a moment, the stones around the entrance melted together and sealed it. He then turned to the loonmaid, who immediately stopped shooting, and prepared to shield herself.

                "Now both portals are sealed. Even if they reach the tree before Montana, they'll never get out. So you might as well turn off that shield around your other friends. They're as good as dead. I would kill you now, but instead, I'm going back to my lab to whip up an even stronger version of the virus, *just* *for* *you*. Good bye, loon." With another bright flash, he disappeared.

                Shirley ran over to her friends.

                "Plucky," she whimpered. No, she couldn't let him, um, them, die. She had to take them back to Old Stumpy, with her shield, and take care of them somehow. Carrying them all would require a lot of strength, and the fight had weakened her. Would she be able to hold the shield until the others got back? *If* they got back?

                Yes, they WOULD be back. Neither Buster nor Babs had ever failed her, ever. And with others to help them, they would be able to get the fruit, and open the portal again. She needed to channel them somehow, but she would have to go on low power in order to keep her shield on.

                This was turning out to be a long night.

                She needed some coffee, like, now.

CHAPTER 4: RACE YA TO THE TREE!

 (Wackyland, 06:10 GMT, TT's internal clock 22:10, Oddimals' internal clock 03:10, D-Boy's internal clock 09:10)

                The team slid down the well, and in a few moments, everyone tumbled out on a polka-dotted plain.

                Wackyland.

                And not only that, but Wackyland *at NIGHT*.

                D-Boy looked back from where they came from, which looked like a giant water slide. 

                "Well, I guess we start marching---------*yaaaawwnnnn*--------straight ahead. Whoa—" He tried to steady himself as a sudden wave of sleepiness overcame him. And since yawns were contagious, everyone was soon feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. Zuccini rubbed her face a bit, and said,

                "I just hope that we reach the tree before we drop from lack of sleep!"

                "Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea," said Buster. "Even with the rest we had in the airbike, we're all very tired. Monty *must* have found a place to rest! I say we take a short nap before continuing."

                "But Fifi and the others don't have much time! We have to stay awake somehow!" replied Babs. "Maybe if we had some coffee or chocolates—" No sooner had she said that when a huge letter "Y", complete with spindly arms and legs, walked up to them, holding a tray with a coffee mug and several cups. Boomer was about to ask the obvious, but the Y already knew the question:

                "We've been monitoring the events in Acme Acres, until the portals were sealed. Shirley reached us via psycho-phone, and told us the rest. You'll need all the help you need." Then it turned to Babs, "And we haven't forgotten about you, your majesty."

                "Huh? I thought you overthrew me and that title no longer—"

                "Just think of yourself as British royalty." Everyone looked at each other for a moment, before saying,

                "EEEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!!" and laughing a moment later. They proceeded to drink their coffee, but as Boomer took a sip, he pulled back.

                "Whoa, this stuff's stronger than the Colombian type!"

                "Really?" asked Babs. "How can you tell?" But as she was asking this, she was jumping into the air repeatedly, and it almost seemed as if she was trembling with anticipation.

                "Um, call it a hunch." 

                Eventually, they finished their coffee, and as the Y prepared to leave, it said, "Don't worry about any dangers. All the inhabitants are trying to open the portal. Farewell!" With that, the polka dot the Y was standing on opened, and the Y zoomed off—sideways—into Wackyland's horizon. As they say it leave, Babs kept jumping into the air, yelling,

                "Well, come on guys!! We're wasting time!!!!"

                And so the forced march began.

LATER (Wackyland, 06:40 GMT, TT's internal clock 22:40, Oddimals' internal clock 03:40, D-Boy's internal clock 09:40)

                The coffee was very effective, but the urgency of the situation, the seemingly never ending need for adrenaline, the lack of sleep, and the constant march was taking its heavy toll. The team was beginning to slow down. Even Babs was beginning to drag her feet.

                "Buster------I think-----I need more coffee," she gasped.

                "Babs, the Y has already given us five servings. And I doubt there are bathrooms here!" he moaned back, exhaustion clear on his face.

                "But how are we supposed to keep going?" asked Zuccini. "Is there anything stronger than coffee around here?"

                "Probably, but I doubt it's legal, or healthy," quipped Boomer. Then, D-Boy had an idea.

                "Guys, I know this is hard to believe, but generally, tiredness is a state of mind, more than an actual physical condition. I've perked myself up a few times without using coffee or anything else."

                "How did you do it?" asked Babs.

                "Music. It's amazing what the right song at the right time can do. So, how about a rescue song to cheer ourselves on?" Buster asked,

                "Well, what do you have in mind?" D-Boy gave a hinting smile that Boomer knew. 

                "Well, I hope you know it. It goes like this." And he began to sing,

 If you're tumblin' down and your spirits fall,

                Strangely enough, (but then again, they *were* in Wackyland), the following words appeared just under him:

The Toon Rescue Team

"Comin' To The Rescue"

POKEMON THE MOVIE 2000: THE POWER OF ONE SOUNDTRACK

From PIKACHU'S RESCUE ADVENTURE

©2000 O-Town

 Help's on the way, we hear your call.

                D-Boy continued to sing, but twisted his head to read the "credits". Moments later, he, and the rest, shrugged, and continued singing, with the Tiny Toons backing up,

 On a mission we're united as one.

 Friends forever, yeah...

 Here we come!

 In no time we'll be at your side...

We're a team on a roller coaster ride...

 Each one of us knows just what to do...

 Never gonna stop--gonna stop...

 (Searchin' for you)

 Oh, for you...

 Baby, listen to me... (searchin' for you)

 Oh, for you...

 We're gonna set you free!

                D-Boy was right. The adrenaline was kicking in again, and they all redoubled their march and continued on.

 (Chorus)

 (Comin to the Rescue)

 Get there in a hurry!

 (Rescue...)

 Baby don't you worry!

 (Rescue...)

 This adventure's heatin' up!

 I'll rescue you and if I do you gotta rescue me!

 So if you're lost, one thing is true,

 Never gonna stop lookin' for you...

 You're not alone, so have no doubt,

 We'll put our heads together--gonna figure it out!

 Oh!

 Baby-- listen to me! We're gonna--gonna set you free!

 (Comin to the Rescue)

 Get there in a hurry!

 (Rescue...)

 Baby don't you worry!

 (Rescue...)

 This adventure's heatin' up!

 I'll rescue you and if I do you gotta rescue me!

                And as they finished singing, the "credits" appeared before them again, and vanished. And no sooner had they finished when they reached the Mystic Sorbetus Tree! 

                It was a huge oak-like tree, only it was colored with psychedelic stripes that varied from purple to fuchsia in color. And as Gogo said, the fruit did look like oranges. D-Boy shouted, 

                "Come on, gang! Let's get the fruit for our friends!" They all cheered as they ran to the tree, scrambled up its branches, and grabbed the fruit. Soon, they all picked as much as they could get, stuffing it into their pockets as best they could. But just as they were climbing down, Babs noticed something approaching (hey, carrots are good for the eyes!).

                "It's Monty!!" Everyone froze and gasped.

                "What?? How could he get here so fast?" asked Boomer.

                There was *no way* he would fall asleep in this place. Not after what happened before. His fear for his own life, as well as the promise of untold profit, were the only things that kept him awake, and going.

                He had long since left his shoes behind, since his feet were killing him.

                His hair was messed up, and bags hung under his eyes.

                How long had he been looking for that razzafrackin' tree? He didn't even know what it looked like! Sure, there were some signs along the way, but they mostly pointed in the most ridiculous of directions, such as two signs were side by side and said "To the Sorbetus Tree", and pointed toward each other.

                The TNT and the detonator were getting heavy.

                *All right*, he thought, *I don't care what finds me. I'm going to drop and fall asleep right here, right—*

                He looked up, and he saw it.

                Zuccini chuckled, "hey, before we leave, let's play a joke on Monty! After all, we wouldn't want this tree to be destroyed." D-Boy smiled at the thought, and they all hid behind some boulders that looked like John Lennon.

                Monty ran up to the tree. There was fruit in it, and no one was around. He was about to set the TNT at the base of the tree, when everyone popped up, shouting, "SURPRISE, MONTY!" That caused him to clutch the TNT tightly against him.

                "EH??!!!" he gasped, jumping high, and then facing his sworn enemies. "How'd you get here before me?" Babs replied,

                "Gogo told us of another path! Hey, I see you've been missing on your beauty sleep!" Monty turned to her and sneered,

                "Speak for yourself! You look like you haven't slept in weeks!" Despite his arrogance, he *was* correct. The rabbits, Oddimals, and wolf also had exhaustion clearly etched in their faces. Still, Babs steamed…and then noticed Buster didn't say anything.

                "WELL???" she asked him, angrily.

                "Well what?"

                "Aren't you going to defend me??"

                "*You*? I thought he was telling all of us!" Babs, forgetting the Jags incident momentarily, decided to vent her anger by flattening him with a mallet. Then she turned to Monty,

                "Oh, and in case you're wondering, we're here to stop you and save Fifi and our friends!" Monty ground his teeth for a moment, and threatened,

                "And how are you going to do that? **I** have the dynamite!! Give me your best shot!" D-Boy calmly padded up to him and said sarcastically, 

                "Like that's supposed to be hard?" and kicked the dynamite out of his hands. As it flew high in the air, the wolf then intoned, 

                "Powers of fire, receive my might! 

                Destroy the weapon with your light!" He unleashed a stream of fire like that of an Army Flame-thrower. The dynamite exploded in the air, knocking everyone down.

                "Have fun in Wackyland, Monty!" said Buster, as everyone turned to leave.

                "What? You can't leave me here! I'm rich!! I can BUY this razzafrackin' tree!! I can buy—" He was throwing his tantrum as everyone turned and headed back, but no sooner had that happened, when an even more hideous red light appeared. Everyone suddenly stopped and turned to face it. And when the light faded away, they saw none other than—

                Shadolar.

                His menacing red eyes glanced at the toons.

                 "SSSO WHAT IF YOU HAVE THE FRUIT?" His voice sent shivers down everyone's spines, and caused everyone's fur to ruffle as well. "JULIUSSS HASSS SSSEALED THE SSSECOND PORTAL! THE FRUIT WILL DO YOU LITTLE GOOD IF YOU CANNOT ESSSCAPE! HA, HA, HA!" The cobra shadow laughed and gloated as it began sending coils in Monty's direction. Before Monty could do anything, black coils began to curl around him. His blood-curling screams were suddenly hushed as the coils covered his face. Then, he and the cobra shadow vanished! D-Boy smiled and said, 

                "Wanna bet, Shadolar?" He then turned to the others, and said, "Okay, guys, we now hike back to the entrance!!" Zuccini padded up to him, and put a paw on her shoulder,

                "Um, D-Boy, we just *hiked* from the entrance to this spot. I know Fifi and the others need the fruit *now*, but—there has to be another way of getting it to them!!"

                "But how?" asked Buster. "D-Boy can't open dimensional portals, and we have no transport at all!!!" As much as D-Boy hated to admit it, *his* own foot-paws and pawpads were screaming for rest.

                "Tell you what." He began setting adjustments to his watch. "We'll rest here for one hour. My watch will sound an alarm, and then we set off to the entrance. We'll deal with the portal once we reach it. Deal?" The toons and Oddimals looked at each other, then at D-Boy, and collapsed at the base of the tree. The wolf looked at them, sighed, and sat down beside them. In no time at all, he too, was snoring with them.

                D-Boy's eyes slowly opened, and he yawned. He blinked his eyes to focus, and looked at his watch.

 (11:12 PST, 16:12 Rio ST, 19:12 GMT)

                His eyes grew as big as saucers and popped out of his head. He would have screamed, but didn't when he saw that his watch still marked the same day. Instead, he yelled,

                "GUYS!! WE SLEPT THROUGH THE ALARM!!!! WE DIDN'T REST FOR ONE HOUR, WE SLEPT FOR TEN!!! GET UP!!!" Groggily, the others awakened.

                "Huh? D-Boy? What?" asked Buster, wondering why he was shouting, and wondering why it was daytime in Wackyland—

                "OH, NO!!!" screamed Babs. "GUYS, GET UP AND LET'S GO!!!" The others awakened and also realized the situation.

                "NO!!" growled Boomer. "Fifi, hang on, we're coming!!!" This time, the team didn't do a forced march to the entrance, it was more like a marathon.

FOURTY MINUTES LATER, (Wackyland, 11:55 PST, 16:55 Rio ST, 19:55 GMT)

                the team reached the base of the slide they had used when they entered.

                "One of the rules of Wackyland is that you can't leave the same way you came in," said Buster. "That means that we can't climb up the slide."

                "Hey, that's no problem," said Babs, as she stepped beside the slide, pulled out a pencil, and drew an elevator button in mid air. Then she pressed the button, and out of nowhere, an elevator door came down. And it was only an elevator door, there was no car behind it. The doors slid open, and they revealed a car behind it, though it was only visible from inside the doors, and not around them.

                "Going uuuuuuuuuuuup!" said Babs, imitating Gogo. The team entered the elevator, and the doors closed. Babs pushed the lever, and the car ascended. After a minute or two, Babs stopped the car, and opened the doors. From where they were, they could see the well shaft and how it connected to the slide, but they could not see anything beyond it.

                It was sealed.

                Babs asked the wolf, "Well, what do you have planned?" D-Boy replied, 

                "I guess I'll do a Dragon Ball Z impression…and hope that Master X's spell only works from the outside, and not from the inside." He stepped on the edge, pulled both fists back, and the others backed as far as they could into the car. Once more, a boiling light began to shimmer all around him. He looked straight at the seal, and yelled,

                "Ka.........me.........ha......me…......HAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" He thrust his paws forward, and a beam of energy shot from them that shot up the well. From outside the well, the welded rocks slowly began trembling as spindles of light shot from the miniscule cracks. Then, as suddenly as they began trembling, a momentous explosion blew the seal open!

                "That was easy," said Zuccini. The team jumped into the well and scrambled their way back to the surface. Once there, they jumped out of the well, jumped on the airbike, and sped off back to Old Stumpy.

CHAPTER 5: STEP RIGHT UP, GET YOUR FRESH FRUIT RIGHT HERE

SIX MINUTES LATER, (Old Stumpy, Brazil, 12:01 PST, 17:01 Rio ST, 18:01 GMT)

                the team arrived at Old Stumpy. They found a very tired loon, complete with bloodshot eyes with and dark lines under them, in the living room, holding her shield around Plucky, Olivia, Johnny, Bandit, and Jinx, who were lying unconscious on the floor.

                "Like, I'm glad you made it," she yawned. "The 'U' just called me on the psycho-phone and told me you got through, er sum junk! And with, like, no time to spare, too! My shield is getting unstable!"

                "Okay, so we just give them the fruit now? But how do we put it past your shield?" asked Zuccini.

                "Like, leave it to me, er sum junk. Put five of them on the floor next to them." The blue bunny did so, and stepped back. Shirley extended her wing, closed her eyes, and the fruit began to float above the heads of the patients. Then, the shield extended and closed up around the fruit, like an ameba. The fruit then lowered to the patients' mouths, and when it did, Shirley closed her eyes tighter, and when she did, juice began to drip from the fruit.

                Reflexively, Plucky and the Oddimals began to swallow the juice.

                Their eyes flickered open, and they reached for the fruit, which they began to eat eagerly. Shirley then set up another shield directly around them, like a space suit, and with one final blast of psychic energy, electrified the air between both shields, destroying the remnants of the virus.

                Shirley dropped to the floor, psychically and physically exhausted.

                The shields vanished.

                "Huh? What?" asked Plucky, as he tried to get up. He continued eating the fruit, as did the others, but they were still somewhat disoriented.

                "Looks like the fruit kills the virus, but the blood that was lost internally needs time to regenerate," commented Boomer. Plucky continued crawling toward Shirley, and when he reached her, he sat up and put her head on his abdomen.

                "Shirley? What happened to you, girl?" Babs, getting just a bit defensive, stepped up and replied,

                "She stayed up all night protecting all of you from Master X, and she kept her shield on so the virus wouldn't spread. Plucky, let her sleep." Plucky looked at Babs, then he looked at Shirley, and surprisingly enough, he laid her back on the floor. Meanwhile, the others were standing up, or trying to.

                "Well, that's something I wouldn't want to go through again," said Bandit. "Where's D-Boy?"

                "Right here," replied the wolf, as he entered. "I had to refuel my airbike, and I finally put the voice controlled communicator in it.  It's ready to go back to Acme Acres. I managed to contact the hospital and tell them we're on our way!" With wobbly legs, Olivia and Johnny exclaimed, 

                "Now let's save Fifi, then!" D-Boy replied, 

                "I couldn't agree with you more!" Olivia, Johnny, Bandit, and Jinx had to be helped along, and Plucky decided to carry Shirley to the airbike. But as they were climbing on the wagons, the voice communicator on the airbike went off. D-Boy pushed a button on it and said, 

                "D-Boy here!" Gogo replied, 

                "Gogo here! I'm glad to hear from you! I hear you got out of Wackyland. You got the fruit?" 

                "You bet, Gogo! I hope that your friends already opened the portal over on your side. And I think Monty got out as well, thanks to Shadolar." 

                "Monty and Shadolar may be the least of our problems. I know you already know you need to hurry, but I'll say this anyway! I need you to get here faster than Little Beeper on one of his good days!" 

                "Huh? What do you mean?" The radio silenced for a moment, and then Gogo said, with tones of fear, 

                "Fifi's virus just mutated! If that fruit doesn't get here by midnight...I'm afraid Fifi's on her way to skunk heaven!" The whole team gasped at the news. D-Boy cursed himself for allowing everyone to oversleep. Shakily, he asked, 

                "M-midnight *your* time, or midnight *our* time?"

                "Midnight *our* time. How soon can you get here?" The wolf sighed and thanked the Creator for the difference in solar time.

                "We'll be there in four hours or less, or as soon as toonly possible! D-Boy out!" D-Boy mounted and, as he prepared the systems, he told the others, "Looks like our little sleeping mishap wasn't so disastrous. It's barely noon in Acme Acres, so it's *twelve* hours before midnight! And even if it was midnight *our* time, that would *still* be nine hours! Fifi will be up and chasing male skunks and still have time to watch the 10-o'clock news!" 

                "All right!! We did it, guys!!" cheered Buster.

                The airbike's engines roared to life as D-Boy prepared to for hyper-speed. Once they were set, they all shot off to Acme Acres.

                No sooner had they launched and reached Mach 2, when Shadolar appeared in the path of the team.

                "SSSOOO... YOU HAVE THE FRUIT! WELL, IT WILL DO YOUR FRIEND LITTLE GOOD IF YOU CANNOT REACH HER IN TIME!" 

                "Ah, give it up, Shadolar!" yelled Babs. "At this speed, we'll be home before you can blink!!"

                "INSSSOLENT RABBITMAID!!! YOUR AIRSSSPEED ONLY WORKSSS IF THE AIR YOU'RE GOING THROUGH ISSSN'T MOVING AGAINSSST YOU AT HIGH SSSPEED!!!" Plucky scratched his head and asked,

                "Meaning…?" The cobra demon didn't reply. Instead, he disappeared. The moment he did, a massive wind gust blew straight against them! Then, to slow them further, the wind turned into a blizzard.

                "Funny..." said D-Boy, as he struggled to keep the airbike level, and panicking as he saw the speed indicator drop sharply. "I didn't know snow could form in the tropics, save for the Andes! We got to fight our way through, team!" With that, he turned on all of the afterburners, and turned up the throttle as far as it would go.

                "Hey!!" yelled Jinx. "The blizzard's only as wide as the airbike! Look!" Everyone looked down and saw that indeed, the jungle below them kept its tropical look. The blizzard they were going through was much like a tube that only affected them.

                "Really smart of you, Shadolar," muttered D-Boy. He tried swerving to the left and right, and up and down, but the blizzard was locked on the airbike. They couldn't shake it off. "Gotta contact Gogo…"

MEANWHILE, (Acme Acres, 12:41 PST, 20:41 GMT)

                at the hospital, Fifi had been slipping in and out consciousness. In one of those intervals she heard Gogo say something about a tree that could cure her, and that it was in Wackyland, and of friends that were going to get its fruit. Then she heard that one portal had been sealed, and then a second portal had also been sealed, with her friends inside, then that they had got out, and finally, she heard him say that midnight would be the DEADline if the fruit didn't make it. This time, she overheard Gogo say, 

                "What?! A snowstorm by Shadolar?! This is bad...very bad! What's your ETA now??" The radio crackled, and a distorted voice replied,

                "We've slowed down to less than Mach 1!! But if I'm not adding wrong, we should *still* get there by eleven!!! Eleven thirty at most!!!"

                "Okay, we'll just hope you don't run into any more trouble when you get here!!"

                 Upon hearing that, Fifi was overcome with despair. She cried, 

"Eet would take a meeracle por zem to get through!  Eet ees 'opeless!" The purple skunkmaid sighed with a frightening shiver, for she was almost certain that death was now imminent. Tears mixed with blood poured from her eyes when she realized how much her friends cared for her, and what they were going through right now to try to save her, not only the team on the airbike, but also all the doctors and scientists here working around the clock, trying to find a cure for her.

                But now, it was all for nought. She would die here, and what was worse, she would die without having met the skunk-hunk of her dreams. But…her friends…her friends were doing this for her…she had to do something for them…give them something back…give them…what she had left: her last ounces of strength, and her last breaths. 

                Ignoring the nerve-tearing pain on her leg, she sat up, knelt on her bed, folded her hands, closed her eyes, and began to pray. As she prayed, even more tears flowed from her eyes... not for herself, but for her friends who would mourn her death. But…she couldn't pray in English…no, she couldn't risk saying the wrong thing, or expressing the right idea in a way she didn't want to. She had to pour her heart out in the best way she knew how:

                Fifi whispered her last prayer for her friends, in her native French:

                "Mon Dieu, s'il vous plaît, quand je meurs, réconforte mes amis, et enlever leur douleur. Aider les continue sans moi. Ne les permettent pas d'être découragé, parce qu'ils n'ont pas échoué. Je suis elle qui a échoué, parce que je ne pourrais pas continuer. Je mendie que Vous les protégez comme ils se retournent, et toujours."

                And finally, she added one thing for herself, to prepare her for her last trip:

                "Je confesse avant de Vous, mon Dieu, que mon guérir et ma mort sont dans votre main. Je mendie que Vous me guérissiez……mais si je meurs……je mendie que ma mort être une expiation pour tous mes péchés, transgressions, et rebellions. Et me donnes ma portion du Jardin de Eden et me faites mérite le Monde Pour Venir que est emmagasiné pour les justes."

                After she finished praying, she laid back in her bed, awaiting what she thought would be an almost certain and immediate death.  

LATER, (100 km northwest of Georgetown, Guyana, 13:12 PST, 17:12 EST, 21:12 GMT)

                D-Boy had been wresting the airbike for nearly an hour. They had barely cleared the Guyanas and had now entered the Caribbean Sea, and the blizzard showed no signs of weakening. And his airbike would soon show signs of strain. Then, he thought of something.

                "Okay, this just occurred to me! It's a long shot, guys!" said D-Boy, "But this just might work!" He punched in the coordinates to Acme Acres, pressed the Auto button on the panel in front of him, and released the handlebars, as now the airbike was flying in autopilot. He then stood up, raised his arms, and chanted, 

                "Flaming spiral, bright and warm, 

                Help us through this freezing storm!

                FIRE TORNADO!!!!!!!!" A flame tornado shot through the blizzard and helped them speed through. No sooner had that happened, when the blizzard itself intensified again. D-Boy used all his power to increase the blazing tornado. Everyone felt the airbike lurch forward, but not by much. The wolf glanced down at the speedometer:

                MACH 0.77           926 KM/H          575 MPH

                He sighed in despair again. They were going at just over one-third their maximum speed, meaning that they would take slightly less than three times as long to get there:

                Slightly less than twelve hours.

                *If* he managed to keep his tornado going for twelve hours.

                He sat down again, and lowered his arms.

                No.

                He had to keep it up, he couldn't let Fifi die. They hadn't gone through all of this to fail at the last moment.

                "FIRE TORNADO!!!!!!!!" he repeated. The flames intensified, but so did the snow. The speedometer didn't shift either way. "Hang on, Fifi, hang on!!!"

FIVE HOURS LATER, (80 km west of Jamaica, 18:30 PST, 21:30 CST, 02:30 GMT)

                the sun had long since set under the Caribbean. D-Boy was on the brink of collapse. He had kept his fire tornado going for five hours, and for five hours Shadolar kept his blizzard blowing. The awesome nighttime sight was something the Lesser Antilles would probably not see again, though it was doubtful anyone would want to. His arms were failing him. His consciousness kept pulling from him—

                —and suddenly, it appeared as if he had "awakened". A familiar scent emanated from behind him.

                "Shirley!!" he exclaimed, turning his head a bit. "You woke up!" The loonmaid had her wings on his shoulders, and she was shimmering with psychic energy.

                "Like, sure I did! My aura just needed to recharge, er sum junk, and now I'm channeling my energy to your powers. Like, together, our powers multiply each other, so we should, like, be able to keep this up until we get there, er sum junk!" D-Boy glanced at the speedometer. It still wouldn't move past Mach 0.77.

                "Don't you think you should conserve your powers? It looks like you're going to have to teleport the fruit to Fifi the moment we're close enough! At the speed we're going, we're barely going to make it!"

                "Well, like, if I don't do this, you'll collapse, and the blizzard will, like, engulf us, slowing us down even more, er sum junk, and we won't make it at all! Besides, you know we really, like, shouldn't rely that much on our powers! Once we get there, if we can't teleport the fruit, the guys will take it to them, er sum junk!"

                "Good point! I'll call Gogo and have Little Beeper ready!"

ANOTHER FIVE HOURS LATER, (Acme Acres city limits, 23:37 PST, 07:37 GMT)

                *both* the wolf and the loonmaid were ready to collapse again—when suddenly, the blizzard stopped and vanished. No one was sure if they heard Shadolar moan,

                "JULIUSSSSSSSSSsssssssss………" and his ghostly image fade in and quickly disappear from sight.

                "Hey, D-Boy, I think we outlasted Shadolar's power, er sum junk!"

                "I think we did," he replied. With no interference now, the airbike brought them into a clear nighttime scene...near Acme Acres! Everyone looked around them.

                "Guys! It's Acme Acres!" cheered Babs. Buster said, 

                "All right! We're gonna make it! We're gonna save Fifi!" Everyone cheered as the bike zoomed to the hospital. D-Boy called Gogo again,

                "GOGO!! Get Little Beeper on the roof of the hospital! We've got the fruit! We've got here in time!! Tell Fifi the good news, and we'll be right there!!!"

                The airbike slowed down and prepared for landing.

                But *others* were also watching the bike approach the hospital.

 (Acme Acres Regional Medical Center, 23:41 PST, 07:41 GMT)

                The bike landed on the roof of the hospital. As they dismounted, everyone looked around, but Little Beeper wasn't there.

                "Strange," said Buster. "It's not like Little Beeper to show up late, and I doubt Calamity or Professor Wile decided to pull a trick on him."

                "I guess we'll just have to take the fruit to Fifi on our own, then!" said Plucky, as he began shuffling to the elevator. The others looked at each other, sighed, and walked alongside Plucky. Buster and Boomer lifted him by his wings, and they all ran into the elevator.

                When the doors opened to the floor Fifi was in, they all ran out—

                —only to be met by Montana Max and Master X.

                And the jackal was holding an unconscious Little Beeper up in the air by the neck.

                "You were expecting *him*?" asked Master X, shaking the young roadrunner. "I'm afraid your little friend won't be able to assist you today." He released him, and Little Beeper fell to the floor.

                "What did you do to him?" growled Aurora.

                "Let's just say he ate the wrong kind of bird seed, hybrid," he growled back. It was here that D-Boy noticed something.

                "Odd, where is your master, Julius?" The jackal didn't reply.

                "Of course!" exclaimed Shirley, rather suddenly. "D-Boy, we wore him out, er sum junk! Shadolar, like, had a great deal of power, but even he couldn't last forever against our multiplied power, AND, like, the airbike's supersonic engines, er sum junk!"

                "I wouldn't gloat if I were you, Loon," said Master X. "My master is already powering up as we speak! And what's more, I *know* you and the wolf are ALSO worn down! Your powers are at their weakest right now…and mine are not, heh heh heh."

                "Never underestimate the desperate, Julius," growled Olivia. Then, Babs looked at Monty and said,

                "Oh, hi, Monty! I see you slept well! Are you here to see Fifi get better?" The rich kid grimaced and replied,

                "You should look in the mirror more often, rabbit! And why would you want your stinky friend to get better? All she ever did was chase others who had a white stripe down their backs! Besides, **I** have the REAL vaccine! With it, I'll be a hundred times richer than I am now!!" Master X added, 

                "However, it *will* be conveniently introduced once the skunk is dead, as well as you, Olivia!" He growled, "You lose, goody-goodies! Fifi's about to head for that big French romantic garden in the sky!" D-Boy, and the rest, however, remained calm. He said, 

                "Well now, I've a feeling the Good Lord wants her to stay a bit longer!" 

                "Yeah, Monty," added Buster. "And you should really think carefully on what you're doing. If we don't get the fruit to Fifi, she will die. Seeing that you did more than your share in obstructing us, you'd be guilty of first-degree murder. As you are now, you'll have a tough time buying out the juvenile courts. And I really doubt all your money will be able to help you if Fifi dies because of you." Montana Max looked at him. Buster's normally calm and cool expression had been replaced by one few toons had seen.

                Buster was angry.

                And determined.

                And a certain spark in his hooded eyes told him that nothing was going to get between him and Fifi.

                Being a coward at heart, he slowly began to back off.

                Master X suddenly whirled at him and growled,

                "And where do you think YOU'RE going?" Monty cowered a bit more and replied,

                "Um…well, they *do* have a point there, Master. I can't help you if I'm in jail." As the two villains were arguing, D-Boy took all the fruit he had and gave them to the rabbits.

                "Get that fruit to Fifi," he whispered. "Zuccini, Boomer, Shirley, and I will take care of these two clowns! The rest of you, get back in the elevator!"

                "No," said Olivia, weakly. "Master X did all of this because of ME. I'm going to help stop this!"

                "And I'm not getting Shirley outta my sight!" added Plucky. Zuccini and Boomer looked at each other, and then at the other weak toons. Boomer said,

                "Get to the blood bank, mates. They'll fix you up in a jiffy." Before anyone could protest, Zuccini and Boomer shoved everyone back into the elevator, and quickly pressed the Lobby button.

                "SHIRLEY!!!!" quacked Plucky while reaching for the door, rather weakly, and his quacking quickly faded away as the doors closed and the car descended.

                "I hope that floor is where the blood bank is," said Zuccini. "Buster, Babs, get the fruit to Fifi, NOW!!" The rabbits nodded. Buster looked at Babs and said,

                "I'll take the right corridor, you take the left! GO!" The lagomorphs ran off—

                WHAM!!!

                —and bounced a transparent sparkle wall right back to where they started, and fell on the floor. Master X, who was still looking at Monty, slowly turned around to look at his adversaries.

                "You're not going anywhere," he growled. "I placed a shield around this entire area. No one will save that skunk! And now, I can finally finish you nuisances off!" Shirley wasn't fazed.

                "Like, bad move, Master X! If you have this shield up, that means that you won't be able to fight us at your full power!"

                "Neither will you, loonmaid! And it won't take that long, either." Just then, Calamity ran up to them, clad in an airtight suit. He bounced off the shield as well. Quickly, he got up, and signed,

                "Where's the fruit?"

                "We'll give it you in a minute, Calamity!" replied Babs, rubbing her nose. "We just need to take care of this little problem!"

                "I seriously doubt you'll be able to take care of me, insolent rabbitmaid!" Buster, meanwhile, had got up, and he was also rubbing his nose,

                "You're kinda forgetting something, Master X."

                "Oh? And just what could I have forgotten?" Buster pulled out a remote control.

                "You're in Acme Acres," and he pressed the button.

                Nothing happened.

                "Infrared waves won't work on me, rabbit!" he hissed.

                "I wasn't aiming at you." Master X turned and was about to order Monty to get the rabbits, but he noticed he was all cringed up while holding a tiny umbrella over his head.

                "What are you—"

                [DOUBLE MEGACLANG!!!!!!]

                The shield around them flickered a moment, but it still held. Then, the anvil on Master X began to tremble and shake, while a muffled growl began to sound under it, with a steady increase in volume. Then, with an explosive roar, an enormous light blast shattered the anvil, enabling Master X to suddenly spring back to a standing position, holding his paws high as he concentrated on holding his shield up and disintegrating the anvil—

                —which meant he didn't see Shirley as she jumped on D-Boy's back, whose legs boiled with light again, and he then made a spinning kick.

                A light blast exploded on Master X's face the moment the wolf's foot-paw connected.

                Another light blast blinded everyone momentarily, as Master X howled in pain and anger…and defeat. Unable to focus on the shield, blasting the anvil, shielding himself, and remaining in Acme Acres, his powers defaulted on him, and automatically transported him back into Shadolar's dimension.

                D-Boy and Shirley fell to the floor, unconscious, with their powers completely spent.

                The shield disappeared.

                "THE FRUIT!!" signed Calamity. Buster and Babs gave him all the fruit they had, and then ran with him back to Fifi's room, letting Zuccini and Boomer guard Monty and help the wolf and the loonmaid.

                The rabbits and the coyote arrived, and Calamity pressed a button on a large airtight door. Annoyingly slowly, the airlock pressurized itself, and once a green light lit up above the door, Calamity swung it open and slammed it shut again. Another agonizing wait had everyone holding their breaths while the airlock prepared to open to the other side. Finally, Calamity could stand it no longer. On a panel on the wall, he furiously typed out a code, and one second later the words, "Manual Override Complete" blinked above the panel. He pressed another button, and the door unlocked itself. He kicked the door open, took out one fruit while dashing to Fifi's side, and squeezed the fruit above her mouth with all his strength.

                The juice slowly collected in her mouth.

                Reflexively, she swallowed.

                He continued to squeeze.

                She continued to swallow.

                Finally, her eyelids flickered open.

                She focused her beautiful purple eyes on Calamity.

                He smiled.

                She turned and saw the others standing outside the window.

                She smiled too.

                She began crying again, but this time, without blood in her tears.

                Calamity turned and looked at the clock on the wall.

(23:57 PST, 07:57 GMT)

                The fruit got to Fifi...with three minutes to spare!

                The coyote also began to cry.

                "Eat it," he signed, while pulling out the rest of the fruit. Some of it was smashed, but it was still edible. "Eat all you can."

                Fifi was too weak to reply, but a spark in her eyes and a provocative smile communicated volumes.

                Calamity hugged her.

                Outside, many cheered.

                Babs hugged Buster and cried like never before, and both collapsed on the floor.

                Zuccini hugged Boomer (both came by once they made sure Monty wasn't going anywhere) and both also cried like never before, and both also collapsed on the floor.

                The intensity the events of the past day and a half, the sudden relief to see their friend get better, and the constant brushes with death were too much for them. 

                No one could say a word. 

                But then again, none were needed.

                It was all over.

                Fifi would be all right.

EPÍLOGO

                The toons in Wackyland eventually got the portal open, and Gogo was able to return. Everyone involved slept for the next day and a half. D-Boy and the Oddimals were taken to Buster's burrow where they slept off their exhaustion. Monty, after he was removed from under the anvil, was taken to a juvenile detention center for his involvement with Master X. But the fiendish jackal had other plans for the delinquent boy. As he saw the events unfolding in Acme Acres, he said to himself, 

                "I've a feeling we'll meet again, Montana Max. You shall be instrumental in my attacks on Acme Acres. Ha, ha, ha..." 

                Three days later, Fifi left the hospital, fully recovered. She slept off the rest of the effects in her Cadillac home. It was the weekend, so it was time to play. Before she left the junkyard, she looked up, and prayed a silent prayer of thanks for her survival.

                "Merci, mon Dieu, pour tout Vous avez fait."

                Then, she left to join her friends at the beach and play with them! Acme Acres was once again safe... for now... but for how long?

The End... for now...

CREDITOS

The Tiny Toons are © Warner Brothers. Used without permission.

The Oddimals and Jags are © Brooke Michelle. Used with permission.

Dragon Ball Z is © [some Japanese production]

Starring in order of appearance:

Jim Byrnes as Shadolar

Jim Cummings as Julius Jackal/Master X

Frank Welker as Gogo Dodo

Gail Matthius as Shirley The Loon

Kath Soucie as Fifi LaFume

Daniel Wheeler as D-Boy Whitewulf

Brooke Michelle as Zuccini

Alyson Court as Olivia

Charles Adler as Buster

Tress MacNeille as Babs

Danny Cooksey as Montana Max

Joe Alaskey as Plucky

Tom Kenny as Boomer

Anthony Daniels as Bandit

The J.A.M. as Jinx

B.J. Ward as Aurora

Frank Welker as the "U"

Frank Welker as the "Y"

And

The J.A.M. as Jags

"Comin' To The Rescue" is © 2000 4 Kids Productions, I think. Performed by Daniel Wheeler, Brooke Michelle, Tom Kenny, Charles Adler, and Tress MacNeille

Special thanks:

The Time World Atlas, for getting straight the time zone and distances.

"Easy Translator 3.0", for getting straight all the French.

Speaking of French, here are Fifi's prayers, in Engish:

                "My God, please, when I die, comfort my friends, and remove their pain. Help them continue without me. Don't let them be discouraged, because they did not fail. I am the one who failed, because I could not continue. I beg that You protect them as they are returning, and always."

                "I confess before You, my God, that my healing and my death are in your hand. I beg that You heal me, but if I die, I beg that my death be an atonement for all my sins, transgressions, and rebellions. And give me my portion of the Garden of Eden and make me deserve the World to Come that is stored for the righteous."

                "Thank you, my God, for everything You did"

                The characters and events portrayed in this fanfic are ficticious. Any resemblance to any real characters is unintentional and purely coincidental.

                Well, what do you think?


End file.
